On Sunday, the shaven-headed former policeman will stride out in front of the Netherlands and Spain teams at Soccer City after being given his profession's most prestigious assignment.
Two years ago, the English official was sent home early from the European Championships for a missed offside call in a group-stage match which is remembered for a stoppage-time penalty that earned him death threats from Polish fans.
Webb's ordeal was captured by a film crew with authorized behind-the-scenes access to make the acclaimed documentary “Kill The Referee.”
“We see the knife-edge that we live on in terms of officiating at major tournaments,” Webb said about the film on Saturday. “One big decision and the ambitions that we have can be cut short.” The experience certainly didn't kill Webb's career, and appears to have made him stronger.
All his big decisions have been correct in South Africa, alongside the same team of two assistants — Darren Cann and Mike Mullarkey — who shared his Euro 2008 disappointment.
“We have certainly kept trying and refocused and we're delighted with the way this has gone,” the 38-year-old Webb said on the eve of reaching the pinnacle of their careers. “This is a massive honor for us. This is massively important for the world. It only comes around every four years.” The English trio has enjoyed an excellent World Cup that has witnessed high-profile errors by some of their colleagues.
Webb has been particularly praised for his player-management skills to keep firm control of three matches without showing a red card.
Notably, his handling of a highly charged, win-or-go-home group match between defending champion Italy and Slovakia won worldwide admiration.
A frenetic final 20 minutes of Slovakia's 3-2 victory saw Webb lecture its goalkeeper to stop faking injury, and get into the goal net to resolve a seven-player squabble after Italy scored in stoppage time.
“We need to try to be a calming influence on the game,” Webb explained. “The perfect game for me would be one where nobody is speaking about the officials, and they are speaking about the excellent game of football and the skill of the players.
“That is what the 80,000 people at Soccer City will come to see.” An irony of Webb's desire not to be spoken about is that he is a media-friendly communicator, in stark contrast to FIFA's determination to shield World Cup referees from scrutiny.
Although FIFA invited the media twice during the tournament to visit match officials at their training camp near Pretoria, referees who made controversial or blown calls were absent and others were ordered not to discuss individual decisions.
Webb even faced reporters at the lowest point of his career at Euro 2008, after two highly publicized calls during co-host nation Austria's 1-1 draw with Poland in Vienna.
“The Polish goal was offside,” Webb said at a specially arranged news conference three days later. “We made a mistake and we have watched the videos, so we will do our best to make sure it doesn't happen again. We are not perfect.” In the final minute Webb had awarded a penalty against Poland for a shirt-pulling incident, and the spot kick was converted to level the match.
Webb received death threats from Poland and then-Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he would like to “kill” the referee.
In the UEFA-endorsed documentary, Webb is told by one of his bosses that Mullarkey's error on the offside call was “terrible for the tournament.” “I cannot ignore the pictures (shown) by television to everybody in the whole world,” the official tells Webb, who understands he will not be invited to stay for the later rounds.
Two years on, the Webb team will achieve complete redemption by stepping out on a bigger stage, just weeks after UEFA awarded them control of the Champions League final.
Webb does not regret letting cameras see the hidden side of a match official's life.
It revealed “how much we do care about doing a good job.
We feel the film did do justice to that aim,” he said.
On Sunday, Webb will become the first Englishman to referee the World Cup final since one of his mentors, Jack Taylor, in 1974.
On that day in Munich, Taylor gave the Netherlands a penalty in the first minute, though West Germany leveled with its own spot kick and won 2-1.
Webb will not hesitate to give the Dutch another early penalty - which would be his first at this World Cup - if the situation demands.
“Part of our job is to take these correct decisions, sometimes courageous decisions, at any stage of the game,” he said. “This is our duty.”
